While the exemplary embodiment is particularly directed to the art of digital image processing and will be thus described with specific reference thereto, it will be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment may have usefulness in other fields and applications.
By way of background, detection of parking space availability is of great importance worldwide due to its high correlation with fuel consumption and traffic congestion. Studies show that in densely populated U.S. cities, such as San Francisco and New York City, a considerable percentage of traffic is related to cruising for empty parking spaces. For example, it is estimated that approximately one-third of traffic and one-half of fuel used in San Francisco is due to vehicles searching for vacant parking spaces. A study on parking spaces related issues performed in Brooklyn revealed that 45% of total traffic and 64% of local traffic is looking for an open parking space. Therefore, the automatic estimation of parking lot occupancy, as well as vacant space detection, can address the problems of fuel consumption and traffic in busy areas. Parking is typically enforced with very little automation, which makes the process inefficient and often ineffective. Inexpensive automatic and semi-automatic parking enforcement systems are needed. While systems based on parking sensors are available, they typically involve large installation and deployment costs, as well as procurement of installation permits, a process that is not without difficulties. A system composed of a set of cameras would not only provide an inexpensive solution that is easy to deploy but also support other tasks such as traffic law enforcement and surveillance which would provide added value to the customer. One of the main challenges for camera-based enforcement systems is the determination of the occupancy rate and vacancy location from images and video.
An automated system that performs parking lot occupancy estimation and detects locations of vacant spaces is needed. This information can, in turn, be relayed to drivers via radio, Internet, on-road signs, and/or GPS auxiliary signals.